Advice on my old nostalgic guzzi

[whyrichard]

Hello all,

I am at a crossroads... I need advice from this community...



I got my first Guzzi in Chicago in 2001, a sky blue 1000sp. I have since ridden the thing cross country four times, multiple other tours, disappearing on this sublime machine for months at a time.

11 years ago, I had my first of 3 children.

As I come out of the woods of early fatherhood, I rekindle my motorcycling love. My daily ride is a 2013 Griso.... but my 1000SP was unridden for years... during - I tried to wake it up but the clutch finally bit the dust.

I trailer it to the best vintage Guzzi mechanic in the area, I live in NYC, and this was in CT. It takes them over a year to take a deep dive into it, at which point they tell me:

"It's a mess! It will take maybe 8K to get the clutch, rear main seal, brakes, ... essentially to get it running again. .... to get it 'nice', expect 20k... are you prepared for that???"

No, sadly, I am not!

What should I do?

Thoughts....

Get the thing in the back of my minivan (will it fit in a Honda odyssey?) and bring it to a property in MD that I own. Get some sort of plastic shed, and lock it up as dry as possible... time capsule... until I can wake it up, spend the time and the money to wake up one of the most beloved objects in the world for me... I have very few of such objects....

What do you all think?
Thanks,
Richard


IF the above time capsule plan is advised, where do I find such a thing? Amazon, a tiny plastic shed? Wrap it in a plastic bag???

Thanks all!
keep on riding.
Richard

[guzzisteve]

If they shot you that big price they really don't want to do the job. Find someone else.

[acguzzi]

exactly, get the clutch and seal fixed and ride

[acguzzi]

and bleed the brakes :-)

[bigbikerrick]

+1 on what Steve said. They obviously dont really want to work on it,and they shot you a "highball" offer. Get a second opinion.
Rick.

[JJ]

If they shot you that big price they really don't want to do the job. Find someone else.

That's my vote as well...

[blackcat]

Unfortunately I can't think of anyone in the NYC area who would work on the bike. Sounds like you don't have the time, space or experience to work on this project but the other option is to contact(406 Vine St, Philadelphia Phone: (215) 922-2214) Spare Parts in Philly, tell them what you have and if they can work on the bike.

Replacing the clutch isn't a difficult job and doing the main seal is wise while you're in there, if you want to take it upon yourself there are plenty of people/youtubes and tutorials to help you get the job done for significantly less money than a shop. And with not a big expense of new tools.  Personally, I wouldn't lock it up in a shed in Maryland unless you want to contact Charlie and get on his waiting list.

[Dirk_S]

I’d trailer it to the second or third best vintage Guzzi mechanic in the area.

I lie. I’d find some auto mechanic or cantankerous BMW airhead mechanic who works out of his shed down the street and bug them.

[blackcat]

You can also try the Guzzi dealer in Brooklyn, don't know anything about them other then visiting the showroom a couple of times but they seemed like a good shop and if they won't work on the bike maybe one of their mechanics might want to do a side job.

Johns Cycle shop in Woodside, Queens might work on the bike as they are an old school shop but mostly British. There is also 6th St. Specials on the Lower East Side but he mostly works on British bikes but both of these shops may know someone who can work on your bike but I'd start with the Guzzi dealer in Brooklyn and Spare Parts would be my next call as they do work on all kinds of Guzzi's.

[PeteS]

I hope that you are not dealing with Hamlin Cycles. Hard to imagine they would give you a price like that nor take a year without fixing it. If its not Hamlin then give them a call and say you need a new clutch. They should be able to give you a ball park number.

Pete

[Tkelly]

Jhem on this forum has a really nice one for sale near Madison WI.If interested send him a pm.

[RinkRat II]

     Try to get a hold of Alex at 20th Century Cycles in Oyster Bay. (Billy Joels) shop and museum...he may have a name or two to recommend
somebody a little closer and willing to do the repairs.  My$.02.

   Paul B

[guzzisteve]

I wonder how nasty the bike looks, being around all that time bout 45yrs old. Might have something to do with the charge to work on the bike.
Got any pics of this SP?  I had one for 4yrs & 50K mi & bought it new in 80. My 2nd Guzzi new.

[pehayes]

You have property in Maryland?  Go find Charlie Mullendore at Antietam Classic Cycle.  Right up your alley for the kind of work  you need.  Do you want it operational?  Or do you want it to look like the day you bought it.  Huge price differential.

http://www.antietamclassiccycle.com/

He's a busy, well-respected guy so don't be in a hurry.  Sounds right if you are contemplating long term storage.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

You have property in Maryland?  Go find Charlie Mullendore at Antietam Classic Cycle.  Right up your alley for the kind of work  you need.  Do you want it operational?  Or do you want it to look like the day you bought it.  Huge price differential.

http://www.antietamclassiccycle.com/

He's a busy, well-respected guy so don't be in a hurry.  Sounds right if you are contemplating long term storage.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

I appreciate the "shout out", but I currently have at least a years worth of work, maybe more. I am hoping to begin winding down the amount of customer work I take on after that, with an eye on "semi-retiring" so that I can finally work on my own projects.

[Bigtime]

 Here are some pictures of the bike in question.

[PeteS]

Here are some pictures of the bike in question.

This is Richard’s bike? Not what I assumed from his description.

Pete

[Bigtime]

  Yes. Bike in question. Shop owner is a good friend and doesn't visit or post on this site. As you can see, it needs an incredible amount of time and work.  JohnB

[Vecchio Lupo]

I could get that going and I’m not a real mechanic. I crabbed the frame of 77 convert to change flywheel, and my 1990 cal 3 rear main and clutch.  Brakes are easy. Got any friends that are BMW Airhead guys? That expertise translates. Get a book, get a cheap lift and get to work.

[DoubleGuzzi]

Yup, DIY and a labour of love i.e. time consuming.

[Tkelly]

I have an SPNT that has been to eastern Canada,Newfoundland ,Washington and points in between.I bought it back from a dealer I hadsold it to for sentimental reasons like yours.Unfortunately it has some issues and my dream of touring on it again is unrealistic,even though I trust it for Midwest rallies.Buy another one ,nice ones are 5000 or less these days,keep yours as a parts bike.Do you want to spend your limited free time riding or wrenching?Either is rewarding but you sound like a rider more than builder.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Here are some pictures of the bike in question.

The kind of job I really loathe, I can see why the other shop priced it so high. Filthy, already partially disassembled. 

[kingoffleece]

I just can't let this go.  I'm also a very long time customer of that shop and assisted there every year for quite a while on my bi-annual trips to New England.
It would be helpful if the bike owner mentioned all the facts on this, including the advise he was give when the bike arrived that it's not worth the cost to fix it and the shop recommendation was not to proceed.  There is a TON more but I'll leave it right there.

[PeteS]

I know I was envisioning a rider that was parked when the clutch broke. Not a bucket of ratty parts.

Pete

[guzzisteve]

The kind of job I really loathe, I can see why the other shop priced it so high. Filthy, already partially disassembled. 

I guessing I figured correctly

[Gliderjohn]

Oh my. Didn't expect as bad as the pictures show. Without being a significant heirloom I wouldn't touch that with a 10 ft. Italian pole. It is well over the hill for any kind of reasonably affordable effort to bring it back. Sorry.
GliderJohn

[Dirk_S]

Perfect patient for a rat bike project, like the ‘78 R80 I bought on eBay for $1400 “in good condition”:





…Of course, mine at least had a complete set of carbs still attached—I cannot look at that one closeup pic of the jet needle dangling on the slide spring without imagining it going BOING! BOING! BOING! as the bike gets pushed around the shop floor.

[Moparnut72]

You would be much better off buying another good or better bike for a lot less than it would take to rebuild that one. You could part that one out and recoup some of your cost to go towards another bike.
kk

[frozengoose]

There's two things going on here: do you need a better bike or do you want to keep this one. From my perspective, this is a perfect bike to work on. It has a lot of history, you enjoyed riding it, and it's paid for. So with a shop manual, a Haynes has worked for me, you can do everything you need to do on this bike. It's not rocket science, cause I've done it. On the other hand, if you don't want to do mechanical work, buy another bike. You don't have to give it to a shop that may not be interested in doing this type of work. They want to make money, not take on a project that doesn't make a profit, so you have to keep that in mind whenever you want to have work done.

[Turin]

Lessons learned - If your bike looks like you don't give a $hit, you can't expect a shop or anyone else to. Impressions matter. I guarantee you nobody in the back wanted to touch that thing. If you had make an effort to polish that turd, the dealer may feel some sympathy and taken it on.

This is not the place to throw shade at a dealer. In fact, it's against the board rules. You might not have named them directly, but you left clues and made it obvious. That is not a way to endear yourself to members of this board.  Remember, it's a really small community.

You need to take that bike home, get some cleaning products, and start scrubbing. Figure where you want to start. Take pictures and post them. I'd start with getting the engine running.

Post questions here. Somebody will pitch in with answers.